|
Exodus 30:30-33 “Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them, so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32 Do not pour it on men's bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people.’”
GOD continues to precisely instruct his people. Exodus 30:22-25 contains a specific recipe for making the oil to anoint God’s priests. The sanctity of the priesthood is also prescribed as God warns that anyone who makes this oil for another purpose must be cut off from the nation. This sounds so “legalistic” in our culture, in our time of understanding we are saved by grace through faith. Why should it matter what’s in the anointing oil? Why should it matter whether the anointing oil recipe is used for anything else? It matters because God said it matters. Everything God has done, is doing and will do is designed to show you he is holy. God is Creator of the world, and he is separate from the world. Witness his words at creation, “God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:25) And hear his words at the end of time, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.” (Revelation 22:3) This the sovereign Lord announcing what is and what will be under his eternal Word. He is Master of all things. His priesthood on earth is to display his holy glory to his people. In the Old Testament, the priests were descendants of Aaron, representing God’s Law. Today Jesus has become your great high priest (Hebrews 7:24), to display God’s grace of forgiveness. In Christ, “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5) This means God has created you precisely to be his own. You are set apart from the world to display his holiness. You matter to God. Why would we not immediately obey his every word? Words from God are Holy. That’s why it’s called the “Holy Bible”. Separate yourself from the culture’s words. Listen to God. Know he has created you to be his own. LIFE Link: Listen to the holiness in God’s commands and discover life. Exodus 29:44-46 “So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.”
THERE’S a universe of competition for our devotion and love. God knew his chosen people would be tempted daily to follow other gods, to ignore his law, and to live life as they desired. Amid the competition, God stood for himself. He elevated his presence before his people, so “They will know I am the LORD their God.” Yes, in his precise salvation plan for all the world, God formed this people, the Hebrews, to be his people. Then know God does not only speak; he acted into their lives to personally connect with them. One way he did so was through priests. He formed this role to send men to represent his love and his law to Israel. All the priests’ activities would to remind God’s people of God’s love to form them, call them and bless them as their God. Their sacrifices, rituals and feasts were God’s methods to keep alive the memory of their LORD’s miraculous work that brought them out of Egyptian slavery. Then centuries later Jesus, the Son of God, even more personally demonstrated God’s law and love to the Jews and then to the world. Jesus is the evidence of God’s almighty power to overcome all distractions. Today the Holy Spirit continues to be God’s presence to remind us that Jesus’ loving sacrifice and resurrection power freed us from sin’s bondage. In the Spirit’s power and knowledge, we read the Bible to know the truth and to keep God’s Word alive in our hearts and our minds. The Spirit turns our hearts to believe in the Son of God that we are truly God’s own. The Spirit of God dwells within us, so we know the LORD is our God, and the church is his people. Remember his work to save and call you. Rejoice in your salvation. LIFE Link: God loves you. Exodus 28:1-2 “Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. 2 Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor.”
& v. 29 “Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord.” WE live in a wonderful time to see the fullness of God’s salvation plan weave its way through history. Look back to this time as God formed the priestly office. See how he designed it to serve God as they took God’s ways of justice and forgiveness to his people. The priests would be sure to obey God’s sacrifice laws, so Israel would be forgiven their sins and proclaimed innocent before God. As the scripture describes how Aaron bore the names of the sons of Israel on his breastpiece, he is representing the whole nation in God’s presence. Yes, look back at the priests. View them as men who were a type—a picture of—the Servant Savior and Great High Priest, Jesus Christ. One day he would come in perfect obedience to God’s laws of sacrifice. Jesus would serve the Father in his obedience to be the Great Sacrifice on the cross, so God’s forgiveness would transcend to his chosen people. Going to the altar on Golgotha and dying there, Jesus is now entered the Holy Sanctuary of heaven. As your Lord, he is your great High Priest to carry on his heart the names of Gods’ chosen people through time past and yet to come. Joyfully, as you confess Jesus, your name is written in the Book of Life because the Father has fulfilled his plan of salvation through the office of the Priesthood in Jesus, the Great High Priest, the Son of God. LIFE Link: The view of God’s salvation picture is a beautiful view, isn’t it? Exodus 27:20-21 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. 21 The lampstand will stand in the tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant.”
John 8:12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” THESE two scriptures are very close in purpose; yet, they are spoken in very different times of God’s plan of salvation. How does Jesus’ claim, “I am the light of the world.” connect to the light continually burning in the tabernacle, a moveable tent-like structure in the Jews’ desert journey? When you read the Old Testament and study God’s work at that time in history, you will understand our LORD God is a planner. From the moment mankind fell into sin in Genesis 3, the heavenly Father set in motion a very precise plan for the world’s future. During Israel’s desert journey, God commanded this light to be at the altar of the tabernacle. His plan’s purpose was to teach his people he is always personally present with them. Centuries after this command, God made his personal light more precise. Jesus became the physical embodiment of that lampstand light. His gospel teachings pierced sin’s darkness. He revealed God had personally come to save. Jesus could righteously proclaim, “I am the light of the world.” because he became the ever-burning light to extinguish sin’s darkness. Jesus is the way through sin’s dark valley into salvation’s eternal light. God’s light is an appropriate, powerful illustration of salvation throughout the Bible. Darkness never floods a lighted room. You can never see a pin-sized dark spot in a bright light. The light always penetrates the darkness. The smallest light reveals the way to safety. The light always overcomes and defeats darkness. That is Jesus’ role for all who believe. Pray for the Holy Spirit to fuel your heart, the gospel light will burn brightly into your life. Be a beam of salvation’s light for friends, family and others. Show them the way of hope into the light. Are you saved in the Light? Then this is God’s plan for you right now. LIFE Link: Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Exodus 26:1-3 “Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman. 2 All the curtains are to be the same size — twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. 3 Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five.”
FOR some reason we think we can be casual in our relationship with God. Perhaps we think this way because we’ve heard the Bible’s teachings, “God is love.” (1 John 4:16). We focus on God’s grace, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34). Too many teachings adjust these words to be God’s permission to live as we desire. “God loves everyone, just as you are.” is a cultural belief that requires no repentance. Or we are told, “You can worship God any way or any time you desire. “Certainly, God understands I’m busy. It’s okay if f I put my time above time for him.” The Bible, though, teaches us differently. God teaches us he has very precise requirements for one to approach him. Many Bible readers consider that reading the details of constructing the tabernacle is a boring exercise, left to only the scholars who care. But in truth, God’s instructions are a fascinating read for anyone who desires to know and love God above all. Remember, God is holy. He has standards. He displays his glory in the precise creation of the universe. He lovingly offers his glory to come forth in the precise law. In grace, God even teaches Israel to precisely build a tabernacle to receive his holy presence. Know this. The church, the earth and you are places where God promises to dwell. All is his. Be glad and rejoice your God is precise. Celebrate he precisely obeyed his own law to send Jesus to die. Know in the Father’s exact plan Jesus has become your Savior when you “confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) There is nothing casual about this wondrous truth. It is God’s precise love to save you into life eternal. Be purposeful and faithful to God’s truth. LIFE Link: Where in your relationship with God must you be more precise? Exodus 25:8 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.”
PROMISES, God fills his Bible with his promises. Other names for promises are “covenants” and “testaments”. God promises much to his people when he calls them from Egypt and speaks to them in the desert. Those promises are vital tools in his plan to give you the promise of faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s covenants are his life-spring that you may be born again in his salvation. God’s testaments are his assurance he will dwell with his own forever: John 14:2-3 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” Do you see God’s “dwelling promised” began in the exodus desert? He promises if Israel builds a sanctuary, “I will dwell among them.” Grasp the wonder of the promise. God will come from heaven’s glory to live among his people. Pause, my friend, and be in awe and wonder. The holy Creator, who has created the vast and impenetrable universe, promises to dwell among his very imperfect, grumbling, self-centered people! Yes, by his grace, God acts to love his own. But we must know that God’s dwelling promise has a stipulation. He will not dwell with unbelieving, disobedient people. In the desert, the Jews must specifically prepare a special place for God. They were to build a tabernacle (which means “dwelling” of “to dwell”) exactly as God empowers and commands them. God does his part. He gifts certain people, particularly Bezalel, to do the precise work. Bezalel, other craftsmen and the Israel community respond as God commands. God comes in his glory to be among his people. This is an inescapable foretaste of the Christ to come. Jesus came to dwell among us. He taught us more precisely of God’s commands. He demonstrated how to live into those commands. The Son of God chose certain people to have particular gifts to be kingdom builders. They would respond in faith to convey God’s dwelling promises to the world. God’s commands, his promises and his gifts still come to earth. Today, Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit. He comes to all God has chosen for the gift of salvation to dwell within you as you trust Jesus as your Savior. You are now God’s tabernacle, saved in Jesus Christ: Ephesians 2:22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. This is God’s plan and progression to complete his promises. The Father comes. The Son comes. The Spirit comes. In each age, particular people are gifted to build God’s kingdom, first physically and then spiritually. And it is all for his dwelling promise forevermore: Revelation 21:3-5 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Obey God’s commands. Prepare your heart to welcome the Spirit to dwell inside you. Spend time each day in the Bible. Know the truth to pray. Listen with your heart for the Spirit to teach you. Dwelling within you, the Spirit will fulfill God’s promise to be your God. LIFE Link: it is easy to trust your God when you believe and obey his dwelling promise. Exodus 23:1-10 “Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness. 2 Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3 and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit. 4 If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it. 6 Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. 8 Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous. 9 Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.”
THESE verses help us understand what Jesus meant when he summarized the law: Matthew 22:37 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” One who obeys such laws as in this scripture today demonstrates a real love for others. Note the laws include how to be kind to people who hate you – your enemies. Note you demonstrate love to others when you care for their animals. Loving others includes treating them fairly and never lying about them or to them. You honor aliens – those from another country or those who live in different cultures than you. Live in integrity with one another, being honest and encouraging. The Law of Moses as the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, are called, gave to the Jews an understanding of God’s character. Obeying the Law, the Jews carried the image of God into the world. Their obedience would demonstrate God’s love, grace, power and justice to his world. This is still very true in our Christian walk today. Jesus’ teachings were designed to help the Jews then and all the world since then truly see God. The Law is God’s loving ways for his people to live at peace and in love with each other thousands of years ago. God’s Word remains unchanged. Learn the law and live in love. LIFE Link: Love God. Love one another. It’s God’s law. Exodus 22:22-24 “You must not exploit a widow or an orphan. 23 If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.”
WIDOWS and orphans throughout all cultures in the world past and present have been very vulnerable. Often a widow suffers economically as she has no skills to replace her husband’s work. In some societies, she will even lose her home as it becomes the property of her deceased’s husband’s family. Orphans have also been outcasts, too, vulnerable to abuse, hunger and poverty. Widows and orphans can legitimately be rejected in many cultures and literally left to die. This was true across all cultures in Moses’ day and still today. Women left with children and children left without parents suffer incredible poverty and abuse. That is why God’s command here delivers a stern message to defend widows and orphans.. Those who disobeyed would be judged unto death. God loves the brokenhearted who live without hope. Psalms 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Throughout scripture God pays special attention to them. He commands we do the same. A good example of God’s love-centered laws to protect widows is in Ruth. You can read this short narrative today. Know this is about God’s tender care to give hope and new life to brokenhearted women who saw only darkness and death ahead. The widow Ruth, who was from Moab, even became King David’s great-grandmother. Out of God’s tender care to Ruth would come Jesus Christ, God’s greatest demonstration of his tender care for all of us who are born under sin’s crushing bondage. If you say, “I follow Christ.” the direction is clear: care for those in need. God is passionate that people experience blessing. He calls on those who have material goods to share them with those who have legitimate needs. He commands those who have authority to protect the weak and vulnerable. Is there someone you know who needs special care today? Trust your heart to know God is speaking to you. Care for those God cares for, and honor your God. LIFE Link: Help someone this week be safe in God’s tender care. Exodus 21:1 “These are the laws you are to set before them.”
WE often are inclined to think of the Ten Commandments as the only law God gave to Israel. As mentioned in previous lessons, those ten are, indeed, the most fundamental truths regarding humanity’s relationship with God and with one another. Then we come to God’s next words to Israel in Exodus 21. Here we discover the LORD God begins to prescribe additional laws for Israel’s well-being. These laws relate to health, safety, property and worship. You might say this is Israel’s constitution and legislation to guide them through everyday life. At the center of all the Law is effective community living under God’s rule with one another. This lawful purpose remains the same today. Good laws help us to treat each other well and to be fair with one another. Lawful behavior is essential to bearing God’s image, displaying his purpose and establishing his order. Our civil laws today are to be based on God’s law to guide us in ways to respect one another. To break, avoid or neglect law is to negate what is right and good to live in peace on earth. Ignoring laws leads to chaos and broken communities. We see this constantly all around us. That’s why we must listen and learn from the pages of law in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. As Christians, we should love the law even more when we remember these commands pointed to the Christ. Let’s then remember the words, “These are the laws you are to set before them.” as God’s blessing to reveal his love for us. God spoke to Moses to convey God’s great desire for his people to enter into a true loving relationship with him and with one another. To our sin-stained ears, the word “law” can sound harsh. We can view law as restrictive and judgment-focused. But let’s be thankful for law. Let’s be thankful God commands us how to live a right way. Obeying God’s laws, you will enjoy all he has prepared for us on this earth. LIFE Link: God’s law is God’s sign of his true love for you. Exodus 20:3-16 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand [ generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 13 You shall not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You shall not steal. 16 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
THE Ten Commandments are a foundation to our Christian life. Even though God gave these laws to the Jews about 1500 years before Jesus came in grace, the Law remains powerful and sustaining. Jesus taught the Law’s primacy in Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” Some will say Jesus broke laws by living differently than the Pharisees approved. But Jesus, the Word of God made flesh (John 1), showed us how to truly live in the Law. That true life is the sum of the Law: Love God and love one another. (Mark 12) Love summarizes the Ten Commandments, all of God’s Law, the Prophets’ words and our Lord’s gospel. God loves us and brings us to him with his love. Love is the foundation of God’s character. 1 John 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. Our sin nature sees God’s laws as restrictive and judgmental. A saved soul knows God’s law is his love to draw us into a deeper living relationship with him and with his church. LIFE Link: Love God and love one another. |
AuthorBob James Archives
January 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed